Marked By Hades by Reese Monroe - Release Day Blitz + Reviews on Books1 & 2

Title: Marked by Hades

Series: Bound by Hades #2

Author: Reese Monroe

Age Range: New Adult

Genre: Paranormal, Romance

Publisher: Entangled Embrace

Release Date: April 14, 2014

One choice away from eternity…

For 911 years, Gatekeeper companion Justin Bradford has denied the possibility of being mated to only one woman. He enjoys them all too much to settle down. So when he feels his mate’s Ahavah mark surface, his first instinct is to ignore it. But when he sees the leather-clad beauty in need of his help that’s easier said than done…

Yvonne wakes up naked on a cold park bench in a small town with no memory of who—or what—she is. All she knows is the gentle man who woke her was turned to dust when she touched him. And now the strange mark that appeared on her shoulder throbs in the presence of the raven-haired man now offering to help her…

As Justin and Yvonne navigate the mystery of her past, their bond grows, but the secrets they discover and the sacrifices that must be made could be enough to rip them apart for eternity.

Marked by Hades by Reese Monroe

I give this book 5 stars

I don't like spoiler reviews so I am going to try to do a worth review because I love this series, and hope it will continue, as I think it's got the potential to be a long book series.  You can never fully defeat evil and the  "Shomrei" are immortal so that hopefully means that Ms Monroe's has got lots of ideas for future books! ( fingers crossed here)

This review is my own opinion and will be posted on my blog and linked with Booksniffer Review Tours, for the release of Book 2 Marked by Hades.

Synopsis:
One choice away from eternity… For 911 years, Gatekeeper companion Justin Bradford has denied the possibility of being mated to only one woman. He enjoys them all too much to settle down. So when he feels his mate’s Ahavah mark surface, his first instinct is to ignore it. But when he sees the leather-clad beauty in need of his help that’s easier said than done…
Yvonne wakes up naked on a cold park bench in a small town with no memory of who—or what—she is. All she knows is the gentle man who woke her was turned to dust when she touched him. And now the strange mark that appeared on her shoulder throbs in the presence of the raven-haired man now offering to help her…
As Justin and Yvonne navigate the mystery of her past, their bond grows, but the secrets they discover and the sacrifices that must be made could be enough to rip them apart for eternity.

In this New Adult tale of Good versus Evil, Reese Monroe gives continues where she left off in her world of angels and demons, and supernatural beings the "Shomrei," the Gate Keeper's who were created by the breath of God. Extremely hot humans, (male and female) but they have extraordinary powers to battle the demons who sneak into the human world.

Lucifer has been busy making his demons stronger so 'The Great One' has to up his game too, and in this book it's full on and the situation with the demons is hotting up.

This book centres around Justin... Theo's brother/ companion who is to find his mate.  Now Justin has spent the past 911 years womanising and is not happy when his mark appears, which is just like the great one... Get you when you least expect it!

He tries to ignore it but in the end you can't fight fate, or the great ones plan.

The other characters are there, Theo and Sadie are stronger together, in love and ready to pay back Justin's devotion to them by helping him find his Mate and the path they must walk to be together.  The path will be a difficult one and will test all the "Shomrei" beliefs.

Darsha is also there ( one of my favourites as being the only human she tries to help in any way she can)

The writing style is fluid, I got swept away with the story, feeling Justin and Yvonne's pain when it got tough, and happy when things were going great for them.

The world building continues, you find out more of Sadie's background too... And at the end of the story you know that you will be hoping book 3 will be out soon!

Hats off to Ms Monroe, she's continued to evolve and grow her characters in this book.

I recommend this book to readers who like stories of the supernatural heroes battling with demons, with a healthy dose of smouldering passion thrown in for good measure.

MARKED BY HADES is the sequel to Forged by Fate!

Forged By Fate by Reese Monroe 

I give this book 5 stars

This review is my own opinion and will be posted on my blog and linked with Booksniffer Review Tours, for the release of Book 2 Marked by Hades.

I don't like to give away a great story in a review, so the book synopsis is as follows:

He’s waited more than 900 years to love her…
Being the Gatekeeper to Hades is no small feat, and waiting almost a millennia to meet your mate is damn near impossible. But Theo Bradford’s mark has finally surfaced on his intended. Now all he has to do is find her and convince her to embrace her supernatural heritage.
Young genius, Sadie Nowland, has got life figured out. Graduating college at the age of eighteen and accepting a six-figure job is just what she needs to prove she’s made something of herself. But when a strange tattoo mysteriously appears on her shoulder and Theo starts talking about Mates, it catapults her neatly laid out life into chaos.
Targeted by a vicious demon escaped from Hades, Sadie is thrust into the volatile world of Shomrei warriors and a connection to Theo her brain can’t comprehend and her body can’t deny. That primal bond proves more imperative to their survival than either could have ever imagined—and just may be the key to the world’s survival.

In this New Adult tale of Good versus Evil, Reese Monroe gives us a new take on angels and demons, with the addition of a supernatural being called a "Gatekeeper," or "Shomrei," created by the breath of God. They may look like incredibly hot humans, (male and female) but they have extraordinary powers to battle the demons who sneak into the human world.

This book had me hooked by the first chapter, it's well written, has great characters, Theo, the Gatekeeper is the main male character, with Sadie his intended mate, she's not too happy about the 'Great One' throwing a spanner in her hard worked for plans of a future working for a big company.  She's been on her own most of her life, but she's smart, dedicated, she focused on her education and finished college early, is a black belt and can hold her own... When you are short, it pays to learn to defend yourself against bullies!

I also liked Theo's 'companion' his Brother Justin his character reminded me of Dean Winchester from supernatural, all smart talk, sass and hotness, a love em and leave em kind of guy, who vows never to take a mate, because although finding their mate is great, helps in the fight against evil, it also has it's downsides.
Justin loves teasing Theo for 'saving himself' for his mate... But he has Theo's back when needed, going above and beyond to help Theo win Sadie's heart.

Sadie has a sidekick too, Darsha she's also a little spitfire and she takes all the weird supernatural happenings in her stride, to be there to support her best friend, she's Sadie's family.

The Author, Ms. Monroe does an awesome job creating a world of the supernatural hidden from the human world. The Story is told from alternative POV's between  Theo and Sadie, and I didn't find it confusing or hard to follow as I have some stories told this way.

During this book there is a lot of sizzling almost-sex scenes between Theo and Sadie, which I found refreshing, finally she finds the answers she's been searching for and they consummate their destiny together.

The scenes are well written, I could visualize the fight sequences easily, got caught up in the emotions... Overall I was captivated and engrossed the whole way through.

It is a series but doesn't end on a cliffhanger, and the second book is due out soon
so you won't have to wait too long to continue the series, which will focus on Justin but all the other characters are there too, and the battle to keep the balance of good and evil will continue.

I think Ms. Monroe has created a series that I will be wanting to re-read, and hope it continues to grow, as the supporting characters, world building and mythology behind the series is captivating and I want more.

If you like stories of angels battling with demons, with a healthy dose of smouldering passion thrown in for good measure, check out this Book and of course Ms. Monroe's other books.

 

Originally from Minnesota, Reese Monroe currently enjoys living in the sunny Arizona desert with her husband of seventeen years and her loveable Shetland Sheep dog, Maddux. Monroe holds a degree in psychology from Southwest Minnesota State University and a master’s degree from the University of Iowa. When she’s not busy writing her next trilogy, she can be found pounding the pavement, training to run her first marathon.

Reese Monroe is a contributing blogger at the widely popular site New Adult Alley and has been part of the New Adult revolution for years having penned over twenty-five novels in the exciting new category.

Connect with Reese on Twitter, through Facebook or her website. Reese also writes as Lynn Rush and you can find her alter ego here.

Links: Website + Goodreads + Twitter + Facebook + Lynn Rush